My plan. Hit ’em where it hurts: their bottom line. After all, it all comes down to money: Blackwater is paid to protect its customer, in this most recent case, the State Department. If the customers’ people are killed it would potentially cost Blackwater the contract, and thus money. Iraqis, in Blackwater’s eyes, are essentially expendable (if you disagree, re-listen to Blackwater Chairman Erik Prince’s congressional testimony: where he basically utters inane phrases like "bad guys," "ricochet," and "fog of war" to explain all unintended Iraqi casualties.)

Now here’s the problem. There are strong moral, humanitarian reasons for valuing Iraqi lives. There are also practical ones: Iraqi civilian deaths increase opposition to coalition and particularly U.S. forces. Killing Iraqis costs the U.S., it just doesn’t cost Blackwater enough to hurt their bottom line.

According to the committee report, after the killing, the State Department chargé d’affaires recommended that Blackwater make a "sizable payment" to the guard’s family. The official suggested $250,000, but the department’s diplomatic security service said this was too much and could cause Iraqis to "try to get killed." In the end, the State Department and Blackwater reportedly agreed on a $15,000 payment.

A pattern is emerging from the Congressional investigation into Blackwater: the State Department’s urging the company to pay what amounts to hush money to victims’ families while facilitating the return home of contractors involved in deadly incidents for which not a single one has faced prosecution. According to the committee’s investigation, "There is no evidence" that "the State Department sought to restrain Blackwater’s actions, raised concerns about the number of shooting incidents involving Blackwater or the company’s high rate of shooting first, or detained Blackwater contractors for investigation."

So how do you change that? Change the profit motive, and put it in Blackwater’s contract. Charge Blackwater substantial penalties for civilian deaths, whether intended or unintended. Yes, there will be some disagreements over who is a civilian and who is not, but at the end of the day, there are always contractual disputes. It’ll get worked out.

And my guess is that if Blackwater was charged substantially for deaths, Prince’s purported "ricochet" accidents (I think he’s watched too many movies) would suddenly decline. The "fog of war" hanging over Prince’s head might even clear a bit. And not everyone would be a "bad guy."

Would this ever happen? Sadly, no. The awful truth is that Blackwater’s customers would never agree to such a provision, because they would want an economic incentive for private security contractors to weigh Iraqi lives versus U.S. lives.

Here’s The Thing With Ad Blockers

We get it: Ads aren’t what you’re here for. But ads help us keep the lights on. So, add us to your ad blocker’s whitelist or pay $1 per week for an ad-free version of WIRED. Either way, you are supporting our journalism. We’d really appreciate it.